Not Their Time
by mackey16
Summary: What if Lily and James hadn't died... what if they had survived... would life be different? AU I suck at summaries... please just read:rated for language later chapters
1. Chapter 1

AN: My first fanfic...

Disclaimer: obvs i dont own Harry Potter

Lily Potter sat in the living room of the home in Godric's Hollow that she shared with her husband, James and their young son, Harry. She stared into the crackling fire, smiling slightly at the sound of James and Harry playing in the next room. Oh how she wished that she and James could take Harry outside to play but, because of the threat of Voldemort, they stayed indoors and hidden. Although she wanted to keep her family safe, Lily couldn't help but feel restless cooped up all the time.

Tonight she was especially sad as it was Harry's second Halloween - but first that he could somewhat participate in. As she heard Harry emit a squeal of delight from the other room, she pictured how cute he would look dressed up in a costume celebrating an important Wizarding holiday. Even at such a young age, Harry looked the spitting image of his father, except for the two emeralds that were his eyes that he had inherited from her. Oh James, how Lily was able to resist him for so long, she will never know, and she could tell just by looking at her baby son that he would be the same lady-killer with the same "Potter charm" as his father. She would be beating the girls off with a stick from the moment he arrived at the Hogwarts express. Lily was suddenly jolted away from her train of thought when the fire before her turned emerald. There in the flames sat the handsome face of James' best friend and partner in crime, Sirius Black; only something was clouding his usually smiling features. Was it worry? Fear? Concern?

"Lily," he said, "where is James?"

"He's in the den playing with Harry… Sirius, what's wrong? You look so….. serious" she finished with the lame pun.

"I'll explain in a minute, just get James in here, and hurry, this cant wait."

"Okay, okay….. JAMES!" she shouted the last word.

James came sauntering into the room cradling a sleepy looking Harry against his shoulder.

"You rang?… oh hi Padfoot" he said upon seeing his best friends face in the fire.

"Hey Prongsie… okay, listen… Dumbledore just caught word from an insider that your location has been revealed. Apparently that little fucker…"

"Sirius… Harry remember?" Lily hissed.

"… Pettigrew" Sirius continued as if not interrupted "is working for our dear pal Voldie. He knows where you guys are and he's coming for Harry. There is nothing you guys can do now but leave. Get out. Who cares about anything… just get the three of you the hell out of that house. Come to Hogwarts. Apparate to Hogsmead where somebody from the order will meet you and get you into the grounds. You can figure out what to do from there, but at least you will be alive. Go now and Dumbledore can give you better information when you get here. I just happened to be at Hogwarts regarding a mission, thank Merlin. See you soon."

With a soft pop Sirius' head vanished. By this point, Harry was sleeping on James' shoulder and James and Lily whispered so as not to wake him.

"What do we do now?" Lily cried, tears in her eyes.

"It's obvious, we get the hell out of here…" James replied absentmindedly stroking his sons messy hair.

"But…"

"No Lils, there is no time to think, lets just go and, like Sirius said, figure it out once we know that we are safe; that Harry is safe."

At the mention of her sons safety, Lily gave in and she and James prepared to apparate.

Together they arrived in the heart of Hogsmead village, right outside The Three Broomsticks. Sitting in front of the door was a grey tabby cat they both instantly recognized. The cat se off quickly for the gates of the Hogwarts grounds with Lily and James, still holding Harry, hurrying to keep up. Once inside the gates, the cat materialised before their eyes into none other than Minerva McGonagall, their old transfiguration professor. She quickly locked the gate with her wand and set off at a swift pace towards the castle. James and Lily exchanged a fleeting glance before they followed towards the front door of the castle that had been their home not so long ago.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter... obviously

After entering the castle, James and Lily followed McGonagall up the marble staircase and down the corridor towards Dumbledore's office. The professor looked around and, with a disapproving look on her face, muttered the password - Dungbombs; James grinned. The gargoyle sprang to life and within moments, the trio were standing outside the door. McGonagall knocked sharply then turned and left without speaking a word.

"Come in," the voice of their old Headmaster spoke.

Lily tentatively pushed the door open and, in seconds, was engulfed in a hug by Sirius.

"Thank Merlin you are alright! I was so worried. You took longer than I expected. I thought I hadn't gotten to you in time. I couldn't bear it if something happened to you because of me…" he finally trailed off when Dumbledore held up his hand for silence.

"Sirius please, I have much to discuss with James and Lily. Please take Harry and they will come find you when we are done here."

Sirius nodded as James gently handed the sleeping Harry over. Sirius cradled his godson as if he were the most precious thing on earth and walked out of the office. Lily watched the door even after her son was gone from view until Dumbledore brought her attention back.

"James, Lily, I trust by now you know that Peter Pettigrew, your secret keeper, has divulged the information of your whereabouts to Lord Voldemort. After Sirius contacted you, Aurors were dispatched to your home and it was found in ruins. It seems we managed to get to you just in time. When the Aurors arrived, Voldemort was nowhere to be found… his whereabouts are still unknown. I believe that it would be in yours and Harry's best interest to stay at Hogwarts until further notice."

"But Albus," Lily started, "what about all of our stuff? All of our possessions? We left in such a rush, we left everything behind. We have nothing here but the clothes on our backs."

"Everything that was salvageable has already been sent along by the Aurors." Dumbledore responded calmly. "I can only assume that you both are extremely exhausted after the nights events. I trust you both remember where the painting of the medieval landscape is on the 4th floor? The password is 'snitch' (A/N no irony intended… going for the quidditch reference, NOT the whole Wormtail snitched on them thing). I do hope you find your accommodations satisfactory. Sleep Well." Dumbledore stood to see them out.James and Lily rose from their seats and made their way down the moving staircase and through the entrance guarded by the stone gargoyle. After the wall sealed behind them, Lily grabbed James' hand so that he was forced to stop walking and turn to face her; she was looking at him concerned.

"What's wrong James? You didn't say a word while we were talking to Dumbledore…"

James simply looked at the ground, tightening his grip on Lily's hand and pulling her to him.

"James, love, please. What is wrong? Please tell me."

"I'm sorry Lily…"

"Sorry? What are you sorry about? Why are you apologizing?"

"It's all my fault. I'm just so so so sorry Lily." With that he wrapped the arm not gripping Lily's hand around her waist as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

"Oh James," Lily sighed while releasing his hand and securing both her arms around his neck, " this is not your fault. Don't you dare blame yourself. We are in this together."

"I just cant stand the idea of anything happening to you or to Harry. I trusted him Lily, I trusted him with my life and look where it got me. You and Harry are the most important things in my life, you two are my whole life…" he tightened his grip on her waist, "… I just cant bear to lose you… I cant…. I love you so much."

"I… we love you too James, both Harry and I do. You aren't going to lose us. We are a family, we are sticking together… and yes I realize how cheesy that just sounded," she said in response to the lopsided smirk forming on James' face.

He leaned down and gave her a quick but passionate kiss on the lips.

"Well, lets go find Harry and be out happy little family," and after some hesitation added, "… just don't tell Sirius what a pansy I am…"

With a laugh, Lily took James' hand and pulled him off in search of Sirius and their son.

As James and Lily made their way down the marble staircase, they could hear the sounds of Harry crying. Quickening their step, they entered the great hall and saw Sirius there, trying to comfort the fussy baby. Lily quickly stepped forward and collected her son in her arms and immediately began to coo and rock him back to sleep. As she took a little walk with him to calm him down, James sat down next to Sirius.

"I just want to say tha…." James started but was cut off when Sirius threw his arms around him in what was more than just a manly hug.

"Don't bother mate, don't bother," Sirius began, "the only thing here to be thankful for is that you, Lily and Harry are all safe. Like I said before, I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you. You are my brother and, consequently, Lily is my sister. Harry is my godson and I love him as if her were my own. I was so worried tonight… it was such a relief to see Lily sitting by the fire when I flooed there but you guys took so long getting here… I thought that I hadn't reached you in time."

"Yeah, sorry about that… Lily took a bit of convincing. She and I are just so sick of running and hiding. When we finally placed the fidelus charm we thought that the days of fear could be at least postponed for a bit. When you came, it was like nothing had changed and that once again we are living our lives dictated by somebody else, not by ourselves. You don't understand how frustrating it is to spend all your time looking over your shoulder for fear that you are being followed… and its not for us, its all about Harry. It was actually just mentioning Harry and his safety that finally convinced her to, once again, run tonight. I was so worried that she was just going to give up like I felt like doing but I couldn't let her. When I married her I promised myself that I would NEVER let anything happen to her and when Harry was born he fell under that category too. It is my responsibility to protect them whether Lily's stubbornness will allow her to admit it or not. I should have listened to my gut when we chose our secret-keeper. I knew it should have been you, and so did Lily but Peter…. I never thought Peter would betray us, I was just worried about his strength, something I know I never have to worry about when it comes to you… what is it?"

As James completed is last sentence, Sirius had put his head in his hands.

"Another reason that I was so worried tonight… when you took so long, I thought that he had found you and I knew that it would be my fault. It was my idea for you to switch to Wormtail, my idea and now he betrayed you, something that I could NEVER do. I cant believe that he would do that to you… he has to pay… I'm going to find him and I'm going to make him pay…"

"Don't even think about it Sirius… that last thing we need is for you to get your ass thrown into Azkaban just for him. If we even have the slightest chance of beating him we need you on our side fighting… what good would you be locked up? This is exactly what he wants… just because he has no feelings doesn't mean he doesn't realize that we all do. He wants us to get mad, to try to get even, to get ourselves killed. It just clears his path towards his ultimate goal."

"You're right, Prongs, you're right" Sirius said, clapping James on the back, "now go find your wife and get some sleep. You look dead on your feet."

The two men stood up and walked into the entrance hall. There, Lily was sitting on the marble staircase dozing off holding Harry, who was fast asleep, tightly to her chest. James bid Sirius goodnight and walked towards his family. He gently took Harry out of Lily's arms, which woke her up slightly. She smiled up at her husband as he helped her to her feet. Leaning heavily against his shoulder, they made their way towards their room.

They reached the painting, said the password and entered what looked like a large 2 bedroom flat. James and Lily grinned at each other as they were strongly reminded of the dorms they had shared as co-heads in their 7th year. To their left was a small kitchenette where they could prepare meals and a common room with squishy couches and a glowing fire in the fireplace. To their right was a staircase that lead to two bedrooms. The first was decorated much like their bedroom at home, complete with a king sized bed and vanity. The second was a nursery with a crib, changing table and rocking chair. In each of the rooms, respectively, were the possessions sent along but the aurors that Dumbledore had mentioned in his office.

"Would you brew a pot of tea while I get Harry ready for bed?" James asked Lily.

She simply smiled again and walked away.

James changed Harry's diaper, put him into cozy pyjamas and sat down in the rocking chair to give him his night time feeding. Once Harry was done with his bottle, James tucked him in and leaned over the bars of the crib to kissed him lightly on the forehead. After watching him sleep for about 10 minutes, James made his way to the common room where he found Lily sitting and staring into the fire. He sat down lightly beside her and drew her into his chest. She breathed in his scent the sighed contentedly.

"Just another boring day in the lives of the Potter's hmm?" she said as she handed James a cup of tea.

James chuckled as he accepted the cup and continued holding Lily to him. Today was the closest he had come to losing her since he finally got her. He just wanted to hold her forever. He had spent years chasing her; he had always known that they were meant to be together even if she hadn't realized it yet. When she finally agreed to give him a chance he swore to himself that he would never let her regret that decision. They laid snuggled together in silence until they drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I decided it had been long enough since I posted...I know in my last chapters I haven't said "read and REVIEW" however, I just kinda thought it went without saying... now I see that I was apparently incorrect:PSo, here it is PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! I really want your feedback etc. To let me know where you think this story should go, whether or not you like it, whether or not I should continue writing... I don't want to keep writing if nobody is going to read!! So please, just help a girl on thanks!! Love you all

James awoke in the early morning still sitting on the couch, still holding Lily. He revelled in her beauty for a few minutes until he gently slipped away from her and went to check on Harry. When he entered the nursery, he saw Harry sitting in his crib wide awake. The minute he laid eyes on his father, Harry's face broke into a grin and he started reaching up for James.

"Morning, little man," James greeted as he lifted his son into his arms, "ready to go see mommy?………… as soon as I get your nappy changed," he added after catching a whiff of a very unpleasant odour. Harry simply grinned and giggled.

James walked back out into the living room holding a now clean and fresh Harry in his arms. He walked towards Lily when he got an idea.

"You wanna do something for me, son?" he asked Harry. Harry's eyes widened as though, even at the tender age of 16 months, he knew a good prank when he heard one; like father like son James thought proudly. "Well, mommy is still sleeping, and I think its time that she woke up… here is where you are gonna help me. I'm going to bring you over to her and when I give you the signal, you are going to scream louder than you have ever screamed before. Sound good?" Harry stared at his father in wonder. "Yeah, I thought so," James laughed.

James tiptoed towards Lily as quietly as he could, laughing inwardly as he pictured the look on Lily's face when she was so rudely awoken from her peaceful slumber by the screams of their precious little baby. He was so lost in his own head that he was scared out of his wits by what happened next. As he approached the couch, Lily's magnificent head popped up wearing a scowl.

"Don't even think about it James Potter," she scolded, "I heard what you were planning and I don't like you corrupting my son until he is old enough to know what a bad influence you are. And I also think you are losing your touch… that really wasn't much of a prank now was it?"

"Is that a challenge Mrs. Potter? Because if it is, I more than willingly accept," James replied, wearing his signature Marauders grin.

Lily sighed laying back down on the couch. She was afraid of what she had gotten herself into. She should have known better than to insult her husbands knack for pranking, in front of him and especially in front of his son because it seemed as though James thought that this was the time that Harry was forming his opinions of him and he didn't want his son to get a false view of his fathers character.

Lily grunted when she suddenly felt her sons weight on her stomach as James dumped Harry on her and went to make breakfast in the small kitchen in their quarters. The family were enjoying a light breakfast when there was a knock on the door guarded by the portrait.

"Ah," James said as he stood up, "I should have given Padfoot the password last night."

"Are you sure it's him?" Lily said worriedly as she lifted Harry from his highchair and held him protectively to her chest.

"Lily, we are in Hogwarts, do you really honestly think Voldemort or any of his deatheaters could have gotten in undetected by Dumbledore? We are safer here than we ever were even under the fidelus charm. Now Sirius and Dumbledore are the only ones that now we are here… oh, and Minny, so its got to be one of them and as far as I'm concerned, we don't have to worry about any one."

"Oh sorry, you're right James, I am just being paranoid… go on and let him, whoever it is, in."

James walked to the door and opened it to reveal a grinning Sirius.

"Just like old times eh Prongs?" he said when he had stepped over the threshold, "back in the castle again. It almost feels like we came home doesn't it? And now we have our mini-marauder to teach all we know to," he added, taking Harry from Lily.

"Well you're in luck, Padfoot, you just missed Lily challenging my pranking abilities. I believe that I should take that insult as a challenge to prove my beautiful wife wrong…. for the first time ever" James added at the anger that flashed behind Lily's eyes.

A reminiscent grin appeared on Sirius' face but it faded as soon as it had arrived.

"As great of an idea as that is, Prongs, I actually came here for a reason this morning."

"Oh so you had a greater purpose than stealing our breakfast?" Lily laughed as Sirius shoved a piece of bacon in his mouth.

"Indeed, Lily-flower," Sirius muttered thickly, his mouth still full. He swallowed and continued, "I just was talking to Dumbledore and he wants to speak to you guys as soon as possible. He said that once you are ready just head on up and he should be in his office. You know the password right?"

"Yeah, we do, thanks Padfoot," and turning to Lily, James added, "you ready to go meet with Dumbledore, love?"

"If you give me about five minutes I will be, I just need to change my clothes and Harry's also… you should change too, James, you have to remember that school is currently in session and you don't want the students seeing you in the hallways wearing the wrinkled clothes that you slept in."

"Ahh too right you are, sweetheart, there may be some attractive young girls in the hallways just dying to catch a glimpse of the legendary James Potter, wouldn't want to disappoint them now would I?" James responded with an exaggerated wink that earned him a punch in the arm from Lily.

About fifteen minutes later the Potters were making they way down the hallway towards Dumbledore's office. They stopped a few times to chat with some of the older students who remembered the former head boy and girl from their days in Hogwarts. They earned many confused stares from other students who had no idea who they were but wondered what a young couple with a baby were doing wandering the halls of a school in the middle of the day. Nobody was getting as much attention as Harry, however. Nearly every girl who passed squealed in delight at the sight of such a cute baby, even some of the boys seemed cheered by his presence and his toothless grin. When they finally arrived at the door of Dumbledore's office, they were in surprisingly high spirits, considering the circumstances they were in."Ah, James and Lily, welcome," Dumbledore started when he looked up from his desk and saw the couple standing there, "please have a seat."

"Good morning, Albus," James smiled as he settled himself into one of the comfortable armchairs placed before Dumbledore's desk, "Sirius told us that you wanted a word?"

"Yes, James, I would like to speak to you about what happened last night. By now you have had some time to absorb what has happened to you and you have also, hopefully, been able to process in slightly. I understand that it is difficult to completely take in the ordeal that you were forced into. Very few people are in such danger as you were to necessitate to use of the fidelus charm to begin with, and then to have your secret keeper, your supposed best friend, betray your information to the very person who wants to know it the most… even I cannot quite comprehend how the two of you must be feeling at this moment." As Dumbledore had been talking, Lily has tightened her arm around Harry who was sitting in her lap and James had reached over and grasped her other hand in his own. "Now, I am going to have to make this situation even worse for you, there is news that reached me after I spoke to the two of you last night. When I told you about the prophecy that endangered Harry's life I told you that it could either involve Harry or another child, but I kept the identity of that child from you. It was Neville Longbottom, the son of Frank and Alice Longbottom. After Voldemort failed to locate you last night, he instead went after the Longbottoms. It seems that if he couldn't eliminate the three of you last night, he would at least take the other threat to him out of the picture. Unfortunately, Frank and Alice refused the fidelus charm when I offered it to them and Voldemort found them easily… none of them survived the attack; this proves to me what I suspected all along, it was Harry that the prophecy was referring to. Now, you have to realize that Voldemort will be very displeased that he came so close to eliminating the three of you but failed. There were so many obstacles barring him from you and he was able to surpass them only to have you slip through his grasp once more. He will no cease his search for you and I think that the best thing for you for the time being is stay at Hogwarts. As long as I am headmaster here, Voldermort will never enter the grounds. You will be safe here until we can figure something else out.

"Thank you, Albus… that is more than generous," Lily began, "but really don't want to impose upon the school, classes are in session and everything, we don't want be a bother at all."

"Nonsense, Lily, James, it would be a pleasure to have the three of you as guests in the castle. I daresay, life seems to have lost some of the excitement the marauders were able to provide" he added with a wink in James' direction. "There will be no imposition at all, really, and it really is the best thing for now. I can understand that there may be some hesitation in reinstating the fidelus charm, although you must remember that it is safe. Just a much more trustworthy secret keeper would be required. Once again, I offer my services if need be and if you are willing to attempt the charm once again."

"This is almost too much Albus, we really don't know how to thank you enough," James said as he took a wiggling Harry from Lily's arms, "I believe that we will take you up on your offer to stay in the castle for the time being and we will discuss other options, but maybe we'll wait until after the initial shock has warn off, because I know that I for one am not ready to trust my life and the life of my wife and son to a charm that has failed us already… we will discuss the factors involved and we may revisit the possibility of you being secret keeper afterwards."

"I'm glad to hear it, James, now please, you are excused to do as you like around the castle."

"Once again Albus, thank you so much," Lily said as she and James made their way to the door to the office.

The young couple spent the rest of the crisp November day outside on the grounds, re-familiarizing themselves with their new, but old, home.


End file.
